Pet Size Matters: How to tell if your pet is in peak condition

Nearly one in three pet owners across the UK think their pets are overweight according to a recent survey, however pet owners themselves are often unsure of the measures they need to take to help keep their pet in shape. If you're one of them, you need to watch this Web TV show.

Being both overweight and underweight can increase your pet's chances of developing serious health problems. But as every pet owner will know, it can be hard to spot the signs of weight change in our beloved animals and it's often even harder to keep a track of their eating habits. Despite a growing number of out of shape pets, the study carried out by PURINA reveals that almost two thirds [60%] of owners have never considered any dietary change.

So how do we make sure our pets stay the correct weight? Our Web TV show with vet Zara Boland and animal behaviourist Professor Peter Neville will include simple steps you can do at home to help you recognise if your pet has a weight problem. They will demonstrate the Body Condition Tool, explain the benefits of maintaining an ideal body condition, offer advice on how to reach a healthy weight with a range of dietary and exercise tips and answer your questions! Over a fact filled 20 minutes Zara and Peter will guide you through the tools PURINA has developed to help ensure your pets stays fit, lean and as healthy as nature intended.

Plus, we'll also be talking about an exciting opportunity for your pet to win the chance of starring in a tailored 9 month weight management programme.

H: Hello and welcome to the Petcare Show, I’m Lis Speight. Now then nearly a third of pet owners across the UK think their pets are overweight according to a survey carried out by the Purina petcare team. But pet owners themselves are often unsure of the measures they need to take to keep their pet at a healthy weight. Well if you're one of them keep watching because on today’s show I’m joined by Purina vet Zara Boland, welcome Zara, great to see you

H: Welcome to you both today. Now we’ve had lots of your questions in and we’re going to be answering those a little bit later on in the show, but first of all Zara, a third of pets overweight – it’s quite a serious figure, that, isn’t it?

Z: It is, it’s a very serious figure actually and there’s other figures out there that have that as high as 50% of overweight pets

H: Goodness

Z: So I think the key there is that it’s a growing problem, and I think what we’ve identified is that the biggest part of that problem is that owners don’t actually realise what is overweight or what is underweight, or what’s an ideal weight – what’s an ideal body condition

H: Do you think this sort of applies to humans as well, because we’re all getting overweight and are pets getting overweight at a similar rate?

Z: Well they appear to be. The figures, as I said – there’s differing figures out there but the key is actually understanding how to recognise what’s an ideal rate, and I think that’s where the shift has happened in – perhaps humans as well, but definitely animals

H: So we can’t actually tell. So how do pet owners tell whether their pets are an optimum weight or not?

Z: That’s where we can help. It’s really, really quite simple and Purina have developed a great system called a Body Condition Tool

H: Right

Z: It’s a sliding tool, it’s on the website and it helps you to identify where your cat feels, or your dog sits on that tool. It’s all about getting hands-on, that’s the key to the whole thing. You’ve actually got to feel your pet, so give your pet a big cuddle, get on the website and know what you’re feeling. So you’re going to be looking – basically trying to feel ribs, waistline and looking for a bit of a tummy

H: Ok

Z: So it’s not complicated, the key is it’s not complicated, and by doing it, getting your pet and keeping it at an ideal body condition you can actually extend their lives

H: Yes you’re going to have a happier pet and a happier owner

Z: Exactly

H: As a result. Now Zara’s been out and about demonstrating the body conditioning tool on a dog, and we took some video of you doing that, so let’s have a little look at that now

Video Footage

“Ok so Whisper here is going to help me show you how you can use the Body Condition Tool at home. It’s really very simple, it’s just three easy steps. You need to look at ribs, waistline and tummy. Ok so first of all it’s all about getting hands-on, so we’ll get Whisper to stand. Good girl. And come along from behind and just put your hands on her ribs. You should be able to just feel them really, really easily without too much pressure at all. And I can certainly do that in this case. And you can see because she’s got such a gorgeous coat, why it’s important to actually get your hands-on. Next thing, we’re going to look at her waistline, so just run your hands very gently from her ribcage all the way back through to her hip bones, and you can see it’s tucking in really, really nicely. It’s almost like an hour glass shape, and it demonstrates again the importance of actually getting your hands on, because you can – you just run your hands along and you can actually see that shape. And then finally we’re going to look at her tummy, and what you do is you just run your hands from her ribcage, again from the side, back up towards her hip bone, and you can see, it’s tucking up really, really nicely. She’s actually got a little bit of a tummy tuck, but again it demonstrates why you’ve got to get your hands on. And so that’s it, it’s just three easy steps – you’re looking at her ribs, her waistline and her tummy”

H: Well that doesn’t look very difficult does it? Absolutely gorgeous dog though, really furry though. How do you kind of cope with the fur? Because I’d imagine if you’ve got a big old English Sheepdog or something it’s a bit difficult to actually feel the ribs?

Z: But it shouldn’t be. That’s the whole point, it really shouldn’t be, it’s all about – and that’s why you’ve got to get your hands on, because it doesn’t matter if you’ve got, as you say a big old English Sheepdog or a Chow Chow or even a Whippet. A Whippet might be a little easier because you might be able to see, certainly the ribs and the tummy tuck, but get your hands on and feel the ribs, and you shouldn’t have to press to hard. So yes that demonstrates it beautifully because you’re just getting in, you’re feeling through all that gorgeous fur and you should still be able to feel the ribs. There shouldn’t be a fat pad overlying it

H: Right ok

Z: And you can just run your hands up and see that tummy as well

H: Ok and that’s a specific shape for a dog, any breed of dog – they should all be the same –

Z: They should all have roughly the same, the same three steps that we’re looking at. I mean obviously they’ll differ, and actually that’s the important thing about why you shouldn’t just depend on weight, because there are weight guidelines out there for all sorts of dogs

H: Right

Z: And as you know they vary from a tiny Chihuahua right up to the Irish Wolf Hounds, and so weight is a part of it, but actually getting hands on and actually looking over all of their body condition is really, really, really key

H: So give them a little tickle and a little stroke

Z: That’s it, give them a big hug

H: Now cats, they’re not quite so good at being handled are they, I’ve had cats, they’re not quite so good at being handled. You seem to have found one that’s really good at being handled, and here is how you test out this tool on your cat

Video Footage

“Garda here today to help me to show you how to use the Body Condition Tool at home. And it’s very, very simple, it’s just three easy steps. We’re going to look at her ribs, then we’re going to look at her waistline and finally we’re going to look at her tummy. So it’s all about getting hands-on, so we’re going to have to move her a little bit now because she’s got comfy on my lap, and stand her up. Good girl. Ok so first of all just run your hands gently along her ribcage, and you should be able to feel the ribs nice and easily, and you can in this case, it’s lovely. You shouldn’t have to press to hard and you obviously can’t see the ribs through this beautiful fur but if you have a short-haired cat you might actually be able to see them too. Next thing we’re going to do is have a look at her waist. So again just run your hands very, very gently from her ribcage all the way back through the waistline and out to the hips. And you can see again in this case she’s got an absolutely beautiful, almost an hour glass shape which is really, really nice. A lovely waistline. But again you can see why it’s important to get your hands on because if you don’t do that you might not be able to actually see that waist. And finally we’re going to have a look at her tummy, if she lets me. Some cats don’t actually like this so just be a bit careful at home when you feel along her tummy, but you can see here it’s nice and – nice straight line to her hips. So she’s also got a wee little bit of a fat pad, and that’s actually quite normal in cats, but you just need to be careful it doesn’t get too much of a fat pad and start to sway from side to side when she’s walking. So that’s it, it’s very, very easy, and it’s just three simple steps – so it’s ribs, it’s waistline and it’s tummy

H: Again what a beautiful cat, really furry

Z: I know

H: Lovely

Z: I’m so lucky

H: And she was good wasn’t she? At letting you have a little feel

Z: She was and that’s again really important to emphasise that because some cats actually don’t like you – don’t like you touching their tummy so be really careful when you’re doing the tummy tuck there. She was gorgeous, she was absolutely beautiful, and it was a pleasure to demonstrate on her, but just be careful when you’re doing the tummy. And the other thing with the tummy is that some cats actually it’s quite normal to have a little fat pad

H: Right

Z: But it’s when they get quite a big fat pad and it starts to sway when they’re walking that you might be in trouble

H: When they’re running along and it’s –

Z: Yes

H: Sending them off balance

Z: Exactly, exactly

H: But we’re laughing aren’t we about fat pets but we shouldn’t really because it’s a serious physical problem isn’t it if your pet is – well either underweight or overweight

Z: That’s right, that’s exactly right and in fact there’s an awful lot of health problems associated with obesity and with being underweight and malnutrition, but the key ones that most people may or may not be aware of is it can lead to arthritis and joint problems

H: Right

Z: And particularly if you already have – particularly a dog and certain breeds of dogs are more pre-disposed

H: Yes

Z: And if they have those conditions or if they have arthritis, extra weight is actually going to put more pressure through those joints when they’re walking

H: Right

Z: So it’s going to add to the pain that they might already be experiencing, so getting that weight off will actually help them move a little more freely. There’s other ones that are quite well known and reflected in animals as in humans are diabetes,

H: Right

Z: Diabetes is quite a serious disease and obesity is definitely a contributing factor to that

H: Ok

Z: So again by getting the weight off we’ve had some cats actually coming off insulin requirements

H: Wow

Z: So it’s really powerful, what can happen and how you can reverse a lot of the strongly, you know negative health impacts

H: It can shorten their life basically if they –

Z: Yes it can shorten it by up to two years, and conversely by keeping them at an optimum ideal body condition, you can extend it by two years, and think about the life of an average dog

H: Exactly, that’s a lot

Z: 10, 12 years – it’s huge, it’s up to a fifth of their life, you’re actually giving back to them

H: Yes

Z: Which is wonderful

H: It’s worth doing isn’t it?

Z: It really is

H: Peter let’s bring you in because it’s not just about the sort of physical side of things, it’s all the emotional side of things isn’t it, because if your dog’s too fat it can’t run around, it can’t have a good time, can it?

P: Absolutely, I mean mind and body are not separate, and that’s the thing to realise, and if the body’s a bit out of kilter, you don’t feel so good. If you’re carrying a bit too much weight, you feel uncomfortable moving around, in hot weather you feel less comfortable, if you’ve got any joint issues or movement issues as well, the whole thing just makes you want to just sit still, and when you start sitting still you don’t go out, you don’t want to play, you don’t want to carry out all those lovely little hunting motor patterns that you’ve got

H: Yes

P: Playing with your owners, and you become lethargic and you become disinterested

H: Right

P: And the only thing that turns you on then is eating more, it’s a vicious circle

H: A vicious circle ok. So it’s important to look after your pet, we understand this, and make sure that they’ve got the best body condition that they can have. Presumably there are many other benefits too to them being thinner and healthier?

P: Oh I think the relationship improves dramatically. What you get out of your pet, and what your pet contributes to your family and what your family gets out of your pet, and the whole thing just – you just start to love each other and appreciate each other so much more

H: Yes

P: And you know just sometimes for a little bit of attention, you know just a little 10% drop in weight – I’d feel an awful lot better if I lose 10%

H: Yes that’s right

P: I feel much more active and energetic

H: Yes

P: And therefore I’m involved with everything, and that I think is the key. A little bit of effort – huge, huge amount of reward in terms of pet ownership

H: Yes. Talking about rewards though, we all like to give our pets a little treat don’t we? What would you give them as a treat, because they use that in training quite a lot don’t they, I mean –

P: Absolutely yes

H: I mean if you want to treat a pet what would you give them to try and keep their weight down as well?

Z: I think the key thing here is not to give them human food treats

H: Right

Z: And certainly when I was working clinically the main thing that people who would come in, and after a long discussion would finally get some – perhaps they gave a digestive biscuit at teatime

H: Perhaps!

Z: Or a little bit of toast at breakfast, but the most important thing to realise is that that little bit of toast, or that digestive biscuit to you is like the whole packet to your dog or your cat, or a whole loaf of bread

H: That’s interesting yes

Z: And that’s the difference, so there actually are treats out there appropriate training treats, and if you are training, small little tiny amounts and the important thing is balance it, so take it off the food ration at the end of the day perhaps

H: Right

Z: And don’t exceed more than 10% but even more importantly, and Peter will verify this is giving affection instead of food

P: Yes

Z: By rewarding with affection

P: Different dogs especially work for different things, you know Labradors will work for food, of course we know that, but they’ll also work for pats and cuddles just as well. Collies well you know they’re not always very food oriented anyway and keep giving food isn’t that motivating and doesn’t train them better, that’s the important thing, but as far as just treats and you know loving a dog, yes take it off the ration, measure it out, take out a handful, say right you’re going to get these but you’re going to have to work for them a little bit

H: Ok

P: And some you get for love

H: Course. So tell us about the website then Zara, there’s a lot of information on there isn’t there about the tool and keeping your pet in tip top condition?

Z: Yes there’s a whole new campaign that’s been launched, it’s called Size Matters, and it’s got loads and loads of information there, there’s the actual – there’s the sliding body condition tool, so you can go on and actually try and work out exactly where your dog or your cat fits on that tool, and then you can download that chart if you want more detail, there’s also a lifestyle diary which is really, really important, particularly when we’re trying to work out weight loss diets, as a vet you need to find out how many calories are going in

H: Right

Z: So you download the lifestyle diary, pin it to the fridge and get everyone in the family to put in exactly how much they’re feeding

H: Right

Z: And exercising

H: And be honest about it

Z: Be honest, own up to the little bit of toast or the small biscuit! And that’s – there’s also loads – a wealth of articles and information on there too

H: Ok. But we all need a bit of motivation don’t we Peter to go on a diet or

P: Absolutely

H: Or put our pets on a diet or to even give them a bit more food, because some pets are underweight aren’t they? How do you get your motivation?

P: I think the motivation comes twofold. First of all keeping proper records, and that’s really the point of this lifestyle chart, that you know exercise, feeding, interaction – everybody’s involved. If you want to motivate your kids, well I’m afraid it comes down to you know a little bit of pocket money, you know

H: right. They need a treat too don’t they?

P: If you have a good day and you don’t treat the dog and you don’t slip in the biscuits, and the rest of the things, then if it’s not on the chart, then you get a penny in your pot, and then at the end of the week you’ve got, you know money to go out and have a little bit of fun at the weekend with

H: Yes

P: So kids are quite easy to manipulate like that

H: That’s a good idea

P: I’ve got two daughters, I know – I am a manipulated person!

H: But people sometimes think it’s cruel don’t they, not to share their snacks with their dogs, you know if you’re sort of having fish and chips or something you think oh you’d better have a chip, but it’s actually – it’s not cruel is it, not to give it to them?

P: You know Purina’s gone to great lengths to work out exactly what your dog needs to make it tasty, to make it palatable, you know why do you want to ruin all that work and hand them stuff that’s bad for them?

H: Yes

P: And it – ok you know a very occasional thing, fine, like all of us, but if you do it repeatedly and day in and day out, then it starts to count and then you’ve got a dog that’s not enjoying life, you’re not enjoying life with your dog or your cat, and now you’ve got to do something about it. Now how do you do something about it? Well this is where the size matters comes in, we keep accurate records and actually if you’d like a little bit of help, Zara and I will come and visit you

H: Oh my goodness! Is that a threat or a promise?

P: The hip cane will arrive! What we’re looking for is two dogs and two cats from anywhere in the country, who have a little bit of a weight issue

H: Right

P: so we need their owners to get online and go onto the website there, tell us all about it, we need to have a look at two or three pictures, and if you’re selected the first good news is that you will get Zara and I come and visit you

H: Right

P: And Zara will look at the health and the nutrition of your pet, I’ll look at the behaviour, and together we’ll all work together to design a tailor-made program, a weight management and lifestyle management program to bring your animal into tip-top condition

H: Wow

P: And that’s a 9 month program, ok, you’ve got to be committed

H: Yes, it’s not an overnight fix is it?

P: No, no overnight fixes, you’ll need to have a word with your cat and your dog and say right we need your compliance here, but for you the reward will be great. You know you’ll lose that weight and you’ll have a lovely life, a better life as a result. Now Zara and I will come at the beginning and we’ll come some time through the program. We need – anyone whose prepared to sign up to this will need to download that lifestyle diary

H: Right

P: And start recording now

H: Ok

P: What they’re feeding, what they’re doing, because then we’ve got a bit more information when we turn up on your doorstep. Ongoing advice from the Purina petcare team, which is a team of lovely individuals who you can just call on a freephone number, and they’ll be calling through also the lucky four

P: And once you’re chosen, our job is to keep you to task so you know we will be talking to the petcare team, we will be talking to you, and 9 months we hope to get really good results, and there’ll be an ongoing report on the website as to how you’re doing

H: Oh lovely yes – everyone can help keep track

P: So you know your frailties will be bared, but your successes will also be announced

H: Sounds a bit like Weight Watchers or something doesn’t it?

P: That’s right. Well we know that record keeping and constant attention is part of the job, it’s not just you know a weight-reducing diet. It’s lifestyle, I’ll be advising how to get your animal moving, in slow stages according to what they’re used to. We’re not going to throw them suddenly into an hour’s workout at the gym, you now, who wants to do that?

H: So it’s dogs and cats is it?

P: Dogs and cats, two dogs, two cats we’re looking for

H: Right ok

P: And you’ve got till June 18th to register

H: Ok

P: So if you want to register, June 18th, get on there now

H: Get your skates on

P: Get your skates on

Z: The other thing is it’s not just overweight pets either, so if you have a dog or a cat that you think might be underweight, then equally we want you to enter and hopefully we can try and help you too

H: Ok lovely

P: And we’d like nice pets, you know Zara and I –

Z: Don’t want to be bitten

P: No no

H: You don’t want to be bitten do you?

P: We want –

H: By an overweight Borzoi or something

P: Lovely owners and lovely pets, that’s the way we’d like it thank you

H: Well best of luck with that, but we’d better crack on with some of your questions actually because we’ve had literally dozens and dozens of your questions in. So let’s start with Sherie – or Cherie Philipson and she says “my vet says that my little rescue dog is overweight. I feed him two small portions a day of mixed wet and dry biscuits, he also has carrots and broccoli as well as two milky bones and a strip of rawhide.” Sounds like an interesting diet. “I walk him twice a day for a minimum of 1 ½ hours and he’s a low energy dog and this usually tires him out.” That’s quite a long walk actually. “He’s a beautiful little dog and I want to give him the best and longest possible life. What more can I do?

Z: Ok. Well you’re definitely on the right track, definitely on the right track. I think – and that’s the key – this brings it all the way back to body condition scoring again because by keeping him at optimum – getting him to the ideal body condition and then keeping him at it, you can actually extend it by the two years that we’ve talked about

H: Right

Z: What Cherie’s already doing a lot of the right things, she’s feeding him, she’s exercising him quite a lot by the sounds of it

H: That’s a lot, yes, that’s good

Z: It is good. And she’s also giving him two small portions during the day. What she’s got to be careful of and look at is what’s in those two portions

H: Right

Z: Because it’s all about calories in versus calories out

H: Right

Z: And the treats as well, so she’s got – so she downloads the diary, does the body condition score, starts charting what she’s got, that’s an excellent start, and include all those treats because I know there’s vegetables in there, and what was it, milky chews?

H: Milky bones

Z: Milky bones

H: I don’t actually know what they are but they sound quite delicious!

Z: But the point is they all contain calories, even the veggies, so – veggies are packed full of vitamins and minerals but they will still add to the calorie balance of the day

H: Right

Z: So you’ve got to actually look into how much is going in, and calculate that versus how much is going out. It’s good – if she’s already been to a vet that’s fantastic

H: Yes

Z: So she should get back on board with her vet, have a chat to the vet and he’ll probably put her on a recommended weight control diet, which Purina has, many other companies also do. But it’s monitoring it and getting the weight down. Keeping with the exercise, and just cutting out the treats. All those treats are going to have to go, and yes everyone in the family has got to be on board with it

H: Ok well I hope that’s of help Cherie. We’ll crack on with another question, we’ve got a couple in about cats actually, lazy, fat cats – Antonia – “how can I make sure my cat gets enough exercise as she’s an indoor cat?” And Rachel Smith “my cat’s on a diet” – poor thing – “but is still struggling to lose weight” – we all know what that feels like – “and she’s got a tad lazy. Any ideas?” Peter, lazy cats?

P: Well there you go, it’s that vicious circle we were talking about, and if you’ve got an indoor cat, you know you have to remember what’s going on in their lives. Well we know they sleep a lot anyway, but what is their activity level the rest of the time? Now if they’re relying on their owners to come home and play with them, just for half an hour or whatever, what goes on the rest of the day? And one of the things I think that we need to bear in mind is that your brain – and it applies to cats and dogs too – uses more energy than any other part of your body

H: Right

P: So whilst you can exercise and you know would gradually increase the level of exercise and games and interactive chase games and so on, with cats and dogs. One of the things to do is to start to challenge them a little bit more mentally – so instead of just plodding around on a walk and saying well you know that’s an hour and a half, let’s give the dog something to do. If he’s not doing what he’s designed to do, ferreting out you know things in the undergrowth, then it’s balls, it’s Frisbees, it’s come on you know let’s have some more interaction and bursts of energy that also require you to think. Indoor cats, ok let’s try and think about food bowls. Let’s try and reduce the amount of time that an animal’s expected to be at the food bowl. If you put all the food in there, woof it’s all gone in two minutes, what do you do with the rest of your day? Let’s hide it in different food bowls around

H: That’s a good idea

P: Ok? Make them go search, make them use their brains, now where did it go this time? Vary it in the day. Put it in these lovely toys that you can buy for cats and dogs now, which are foraging toys, they have to move them around, manipulate them, pour them about, and the do soft indoor ones now, they don’t – they’re all made out of clunky plastic, and your animal’s then thinking as well as being active, and that helps them burn the calories

H: Ok. It must be very boring for them being at home on your own all day?

P: It can be –

H: And I know that they are cats and not humans but even so

P: Well they’re just as capable of being bored and depressed, they’ve got the same, you know, wiring as we have so giving them challenges that they can fulfil in return for getting fed is a much, much better way to keep them than simply putting it all in a bowl.

H: Ok

Z: And on that point just quickly before we move on, I know there’s a lot of indoor cats particularly and dogs which are neutered which is wonderful and there’s a lot of good reasons why they should be, which we haven’t got time to go into here, but one of the downsides of neutering is that it does actually reduce the metabolic rate, so

H: So they can put weight on

Z: So they can put weight on more easily. So it’s just to be aware of it and it can easily be compensated for, but just to be aware of that too

H: So just put a bit of work in really

P: Yes I mean think what their ancestors do in the wild, they spend most of their day looking for food. We go to work, pay for it and give it to them and they just have to sit there. You know so we need to get them busy

H: Ok well thanks for that, I hope that’s of help. Anne-Marie Costello says “I give my stud dog buddy extra food because he loses quite a lot of weight due to his stud duties.” Lucky old buddy. “I exercise him twice a day but he’s two times his normal weight. He’s all muscle. Should I cut down on food?”

Z: Ok again this is great because this brings it back to body condition tool scoring again, and particularly when you’ve got breeding dogs or bitches or queens, it’s really vital their nutritional profile is key, because it varies as they go through the cycle. So with a stud dog he’s going to have periods of heavy service, shall we say, when –

H: He needs all the energy he can get!

Z: He needs a bit more nutrients in his diet, that’s true, but in between when he’s not working quite so hard then he’ll probably need less food and less nutrients. So again it’s all about keeping optimal body conditions. So if he’s in optimum body condition and you can actually guarantee that it is muscle and it is nothing else, then that’s probably fine for him combined with his weight, but the other thing to bear in mind is with pregnancy and lactation

H: Right

Z: They have very different nutritional requirements as well so you’ve just got to be aware if you are breeding that there are going to be changing nutritional requirements because you’re feeding developing puppies and kittens as well as yourself

H: Right ok. Well moving on, I hope that’s been of help. Buddy and his – well moving on. Betty Harrington, she says “we have a Jack Russell aged 5, she thinks she’s human, and it’s all our fault” – we know what that is don’t we, all our doggies are part of the family – “and she likes our food. She will not eat dog food. She is overweight, and we also worry that she’s not getting the right vitamins etc that she needs. How can we get her to eat dog food?” It sounds like they’ve made a rod for their own back here. Quick response from Peter?

P: Yes they have and we’ve got to do all the body condition or you know have a chat with the vet, get the diet sorted out, but you know no dog ever starved in front of a food bowl, and what they’re very good at is convincing you that they’re about to. So it’s food down, if the dog doesn’t eat it, it’s food up again, wait for the next meal time

H: Right

P: Plus you’re going to hide all that food that we were talking about in other places. And providing the dog’s drinking don’t worry too much for a day or so, ok?

H: Yes

P: After that, alright then more liaison with the vet and talking to a behaviourist, but you can change diets over, you change them over gradually, you know you add the food that’s recommended into the existing food

H: That’s a good idea

P: And then you build it up over a period until you’ve swapped it over pretty well. You may always end up having to sprinkle a little bit of something over the top, you know just to remind them of the good old days, but by and large very important to do that and to get them off that human food

H: We’re going to have to move on actually because we’re going to really try and get some more of your questions – hope that’s helpful Betty. Debra Carey says “my cat is very overweight. Although I buy diet food for her, I have two other cats and a dog and she often finishes their food. I have tried to feed them in different rooms but I can’t seem to catch her. Any ideas?”

P: Oh more staff. More staff. Once you keep this number of animals you have to manage it. You know you’re managing a little zoo really, and if you’ve got problems with animals stealing each other’s food, you’ve just got to –

H: You’ve just got to manage it haven’t you?

P: Yes

Z: The key there as well which actually links back to the last question is that cats, dogs and humans are all very, very different and they have very different nutritional requirements and dogs have 37 essential nutrients that they have to get from their food that are different to humans, cats have 41 different essential nutrients again so it’s just really, really important that you feed cats – cat food to cats, dog food to dogs and you really try and cut out the human food, because you really will get malnutrition problems

H: Ok. That’s quite a stark point actually isn’t it?

Z: Yes

H: We’re out of time actually but thanks so much for all your questions that you’ve sent in, we haven’t managed to get round to all of them, but thanks so much to Zara and Peter for coming in and giving us your advice

Z: Thank you

H: And if you want more information and free tailored advice then you can go to the website which is Purina.co.uk/sizematters and we haven’t managed to get your question answered today then you can go to the website and one of the petcare team will try to answer that question for you. Well thanks for watching the Petcare show and we’ll see you next time. Bye bye